The odds of winning the California Super Lotto Jackpot are 1 in 18 million. (1)

The odds of winning the lottery are 1 in 15 million. (2)

The odds of winning the Lotto Jackpot are about 1 in 14 million. (3)

If one person purchases 50 Lotto tickets each week, they will win the jackpot about once every 5,000 years. (4)

If a car gets 25 miles per gallon, and a gallon of gas is bought for every Lotto ticket bought, there will be enough gas for about 750 round trips to the moon before the jackpot is won. (5)

It is three times more likely for a person driving ten miles to buy a Lotto ticket to be killed in a car accident than to win the jackpot. (6)

The odds are greater to be:

Dealt a royal flush on the opening hand in a poker game (1 in 649,739) (7)
Killed by terrorists while traveling abroad (1 in 650,000) (8)

Die during an average life span from:

flesh-eating bacteria (1 in 1 million)
heart disease from eating a broiled steak a week (1 in 48,000)
a lightning strike (1 in 30,000)
cancer from eating a peanut butter sandwich a day (1 in 5,000) (9)

Sources:
1. Conversation with Mike Orkin 4/10/97 author of Can You Win? California State University, Hayward.